Thursday, May 19, 2011

Who says that a full-time father, husband, employee and instructor doesn’t have time for himself? I think it’s a lie, something made to discourage us. Not that I always need time to myself, just that it’s great to get outside and do things while not sacrificing your time at home with family. All it takes is an early morning alarm, some good carbs, plenty of water, a picture perfect sunrise and some good company to make everyday an adventure.
Hike data can be found here.

Meet Prairie Mountain. Site of winter flying, very strenuous hikes (as described by the guide) and early morning outings.

Now put these three things together and you get yourself an adventure, all before the daily grind. We threw this idea together pretty quick, and now want to make a habit of regularly getting out to do this sort of thing pre-work. I think it’s great, cause you look forward to it in the days leading up to it, and you reflect on it in the days afterwards. Ahhhh…..

Last time I was here, there was much more snow, but some still lingered.

We made the hike more adventurous, with bouldering detours. It was early so M was still sleeping during the ascent.

The summit ridge. Last time, there was lots of snow. This time it was warm and melty, like a delicious grill cheese sandwich.

Hero Summit Shot.

More Heroic Summit shot.

An artsy summit shot. Nice one M!

The best part about summiting is eating while you are up there. But since we had to be in the office in about an hour (it was only 730am), we figured we’d keep the meal short and make our descent.

It warmed up quite a bit and I was very happy not to have brought my snowpants.

Kananaskis country. Empty. No one there. Except one dude we startled who was just coming up as we finished our descent.

M couldn’t resist this photo. This is why I hike with this guy. He’s fun and goofy.

My thoughts on the hike… well pretty serene. There is nothing like fresh mountain air at 6am. There is nothing like an endless narration spewing from me about our adventures as we climbed. There is nothing like sitting at the summit at 730am thinking, “In two hours, I’ll be plopped in front of my computer facing the daily stresses.” There is nothing like knowing that when I get home, I have all the time I need to spend with my wife and son. Life’s good. Make everyday an adventure. It’s possible, oh yes it is.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

So no blogging lately, but much going on. First of all, I would like to wish my son a very happy first birthday! Happy Birthday little buddy! You made our family even better

We took him out to Drumheller for his birthday. On the way, my wife got this amazing photo. Very nice! This will definitely be printed and hung on the wall.

Seeing as we were in Drumheller, it seemed fitting to go in to the Royal Tyrell Museum. D’uh! That was the whole point. For a 1 year old baby, he sure saw a lot and pointed and walked and enjoyed it! I’m really happy we took him. I won’t post pictures of him, but here’s me beside a rather large T-rex leg. It was a great visit!

What else has happened lately? Well, not many photos, but stuff is still going on.

I’ve ordered myself a new guitar! A Crafter SA-TMVS electric/acoustic. Thanks to Dennis @ Adirondack Guitars, I managed to put it on layaway, so it should be with me in a few months. I can’t wait. Hopefully I can get it before my brother’s wedding in Halifax this August. I’m playing guitar for the wedding, so a new instrument would be very much welcome. Donations to the Lorne Guitar Fund are always appreciated .

Along with the guitar, I also ordered a Boomerang 3 Phrase Sampler pedal. This lets you record and loop your guitar, so it’s like creating your own band. Lots of people do it, and now it gives a whole new dimension to playing guitar. I have been wanting one of these for years, and I know for a fact it’s going to help me get better and better at the guitar. Super excited for this one!

I have also signed on with Cochrane Functional Fitness to teach their 5 & 10k run prep. It’s a 6 week program to get people ready for the Footstock races (or whatever races) this June. I’m in to week 2 and absolutely loving it! It’s a great program and I really do enjoy teaching it.

Speaking of running, I am still on my quest to run the Powderface42 marathon this July. I am approaching this race as I would an ultra with a run strategy. Basically, 13 minutes running, 2 minutes rest, and repeat until complete. So I’m hoping to run 2km+ at a time, and with the rest, hoping to average 2.5km per interval. This should allow me 10km/hour or a finish of roughly just over 4 hours. I honestly think that’s not going to happen, as most racers are in the 5 hour mark due to the elevation and difficulty of the race, but regardless of how far I run in 15 minutes, it’s still my strategy. I think it will work well for me.

Lastly, I would like to conclude that I have finally finished reading James Herriot “All Creatures Great and Small”. It was a truly inspiring read for me. I’ve discovered that loving what you do isn’t necessarily loving the job itself, but just loving life and all it has to offer. A career may be a goal for some, but my goals is to use my career as a means to an end. To love life. To live life, and make the most of it, and reflect upon it with a positive attitude. I came up with a “slogan” after reading the book, which has nothing to do with the book, but rather with the feeling I got from reading it:

Love what you have

Earn what you want

Deserve what you get

We live in a very materialistic world, with pretty shiny things all around us. It’s very enticing to always have the next best thing! Look at the guitars in this blog, for example! I am living testament to wanting things. And one thing I have always wanted was career joy. I have discovered that I may not always find joy in that career, but I can find joy in what that career provides. So when I end up in a slump as I so often do, I have to remember why I’m having a hard time, and not just reflect on the hard time. I have to remember that the life I live is SO much bigger than the problems I face day to day.